Foreign Relations: A Finn O'Brien Thriller (Finn O'Brien Thriller Series Book 2)

by Rebecca Forster

  "I gave it my best shot, Abu, but I don't think she's dead. I would have finished her except I heard a key in the door, and I was in no shape to take on a real fight. She'll know it was me if I didn't rattle her brain good enough."

  Emanuel smiled. He had almost forgotten Oliver. The man's head was cradled among the pillows, his eyes were trained on the ceiling. When he spoke, he spoke like a man with a fever.

  "Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate the old SASR. They trained me well, didn't they? I was slick back then, wasn't I, Emanuel? All spit and polish when we met. Followed the code to the letter, I did. Who Dares to Win!" Oliver chuckled as he called out the Australian Special Forces' motto. He let his head roll so that he could look at Emanuel, perhaps hoping to see some encouragement. "I used to think that was a fockin' oath for good and right. 'Till Somalia. 'Till Afghanistan." Oliver sniffed back his pain and his eyes narrowed in his beautiful, hard face. "But we dared to win, didn't we, mate?"

  Emanuel hated historical revision and he truly despised men of lesser worth raising themselves up to stand with him.

  "I dared, Oliver. I won. You are not necessary to me. You can be replaced," Emanuel said.

  "Hah! With who? Rada? With one of your citizens who all hate your guts?" Oliver rolled his head this way and that. "Naw, mate, we're tied together like an old married couple. You can't trust anyone in Eritrea the way you can trust me. I know what you want before you do, and I make it happen. This time there was just a little more fuss than I expected. My bad. The women got the drop on me over there at the old lady's place. It should have been so simple."

  "Women?" Emanuel echoed.

  Oliver put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.

  "The young one at the restaurant? Remember Hali? She and the woman who's making the film went looking for Aman at the grandmother's while I was there. Aman was at the old woman's house the whole time. Right under our noses."

  "And did you find the video, Oliver? Did you get the thumb drive?" Emanuel asked.

  "It wasn't at the house far as I could tell. That's why I went to have a private talk with Hali. I figured a little persuasion and she'd tell me where it was."

  "And did she, Oliver? Did she know where it was?"

  "No, but it doesn't matter. She told me other stuff, Abu. Oh, yes she did. And you know what? She's got courage – not as much as Takrit, you understand – but she's strong. Nobody knows where that damn drive is. You're safe on that count. But you have more trouble than you know…"

  Oliver's words drifted off with his breath and then he pulled another back in through his clenched teeth. He opened his eyes. They were glittering with pain. He licked his lips. His mouth was dry.

  "Look, mate, I need you to find me a doctor to patch me up. Get me a little something to ease the pain."

  Emanuel seemed not to have heard Oliver's request. He had heard, of course, but he was thinking about the game of chess and how men of importance often referred to it when speaking of business and war and life itself. Emanuel was thinking about his man, Oliver, his knight who had moved one space too many. Now it was Emanuel's move and he must decide whether to protect him or sacrifice him.

  "You've become soft, Oliver," Emanuel said quietly. "It is only a wound in your arm. Takrit and her parents bore worse as did Aman. They were true soldiers. Their courage was admirable."

  Oliver snorted. "You may have admired them but you don't want the world to see what you did to Takrit and that's what's going to happen, Emanuel."

  "Not if the video is lost," Emanuel countered.

  "That producer got Takrit on tape telling the whole damn story. She has a picture of the damage. It may not be the video, but it's still bad. And here's the worst. That broad is going to simulcast the movie all over the world. They have demonstrations planned, social media blitzes. That woman is waging war against you, my friend."

  Oliver groaned. He put a hand to the towel on his arm. His color had gone from white to blue and Emanuel thought he looked as if he were made of porcelain. Oliver's head rolled back and his bleary eyes held Emanuel Dega Abu's gaze.

  "A damn army of women, Emanuel. That's what's coming your way, mate. Paris, London, New York, Beijing, Dubai. The bitch behind it all is waiting 'till the last minute to see if that footage shows up and so is Aman. The producer wants to show it to the world; Aman wants it destroyed. Not that it matters, really. Hali says that woman isn't going to change her plans. You're screwed one way or the other unless someone stops her."

  "And do we know who this person is? The woman in charge of all this?"

  "I do," Oliver said as his eyes began to close again, "but that little bit of information will cost you extra, my friend."

  CHAPTER 29

  Finn stood in the doorway of room four-twenty where Cori lay. Her long blonde hair was spread out on the pillow, knotted and messed, the tease deflated. Her make-up had been wiped away. The hospital gown was shrugged off one shoulder to allow for the monitoring of her heart and pulled away from the cast on her right leg. Amber sat beside the bed, Tucker in her arms, both fast asleep.

  Finn stepped lightly in his heavy boots until he stood beside the raised bed. It was then that he could see the true damage done to his partner: a line of stitches snaked across the base of her skull, one eye was black like tar and swollen shut, her arms and hands were purple with bruises. Her leg, while broken badly, would have no permanent damage according to the hospital staff, but it was encased in plaster from ankle to knee.

  Finn's eyes flickered to the monitor; her vitals strong and steady. She moved in her sleep and moaned a little. Finn put his hand on her head, smoothing it over her hair. He leaned over her and whispered:

  "Shhh, now. Rest, my girl."

  Finn put one arm on the railing and with his free hand he picked up a strand of hair and put it behind her shoulder before resting the back of his hand against her cheek. From the hall he heard the sound of a wheeled trolley; from inside Cori's room he heard:

  "I know you love her."

  Finn's lips tipped. He raised his eyes and looked at Amber. In the dark room her hair glistened gold, her eyes glittered and Finn could feel her animosity. He could also feel her fear and her hope. He was powerless to calm her fear, feed her hope or temper her anger because how he felt about Cori was not open for discussion. He was still married and he needed to settle his own heart before he could give it to anyone. Finn couldn't explain that to a girl who had never come to terms with love herself.

  "She's my friend and my partner." Finn straightened up and stood away from the bed.

  "I hate it when old people say stuff like that."

  Amber shifted her arms so that Tucker lay against her breast. She didn't notice Finn's smile. Old people was how the girl saw the two of them. It was good that Cori wasn't awake or Amber would not be hearing the last of it.

  "Sure, I'm only telling you the truth," Finn said.

  "Yeah, well the truth sucks."

  Amber sat up, moving her son to her shoulder. Tucker didn't stir, as well he shouldn't. He was a baby, safe in his mother's arms, the last safe place he would ever be.

  "I'm thinking that questions about our relationship is something best kept between your mother and me," Finn said.

  "I guess. But it seems like after all this time you guys would have figured it out. I mean, it would have been nice for her to hear you say you love her before something like this happened."

  Finn stayed silent. He had heard a lot about the fairer sex that evening and he was none the wiser. He did not understand the cruelty men visited upon them, or the savagery that women inflicted on one another. But he was not cruel or savage; he was honest and he would not say something because Amber wanted to hear it. That was the difference between mother and daughter. Cori would not want him to speak those words unless they were the deepest truth.

  "Did they tell you what happened?" he asked.

  "They think she walked in on a robbery," Amber said. "The owner of the restauran
t forgot something so he came back and scared the guy off. I'm so glad he came back."

  Finn listened to the girl's story. He was pleased that whoever had caught this call gave her the basics. There was no need for her to know that one other woman was dead and a girl only a few years older than she might not survive her injuries.

  Amber got up and stood on the opposite side of the bed.

  "They gave me a whole list of stuff to watch for. If she does something weird like throwing up a lot then she may have to come back. They wanted to send her home tonight, but Captain Fowler made them keep her here."

  "The captain is a wise man," Finn said, knowing this was the safest place for Cori if whoever did this wanted to finish the job.

  "I'll come get her in the morning then," Finn said.

  "I've got it covered," Amber said. "She's my mom."

  "Sure, that's good, Amber."

  Finn knew it was a fine line he walked in this situation. He and Amber hadn't had much to do with one another over the years and he had heard too much worry from Cori to have the best opinion of her. Still, he admired that she was willing to step up.

  "You should be getting home to rest. You'll have a lot to do in the next few weeks."

  "I just don't want her to be alone tonight, you know?"

  "I won't leave. I'll call you if she takes a turn," Finn assured her, but Amber didn't move, torn as she was between being a good mother, a good daughter and a scared little girl. Finn encouraged her. "It's fine, Amber. Truly. You need to get the wee one to his bed. Do you need me to call a ride for you?"

  "A friend brought me and one of the officers brought Mom’s car here. I'll take that home. I'm okay. We're okay."

  Amber rocked her child while she watched her mother and thought out loud.

  "I don't know why she does it. I mean she could do other stuff. She's really smart." She looked at Finn. "Do you know why she wants to be a cop?"

  "Because she can and few others will," Finn answered. "Because she has the heart and the strength."

  "But she could have been anything," Amber insisted.

  "Sometimes people make choices that aren't their dream but their responsibility."

  "It was because she had me," Amber said. "She didn't have any choices after she had me. She told me once that if she was a cop she would have a job for life and we'd have security. What good is that if someone kills you? What good is that if my mom is dead?"

  It was then Amber began to cry. Finn was around the bed, taking the little boy from her, trying to put an arm around the girl. She let Tucker go but wanted no comfort from him. For all they knew about one another, they were still strangers, so he stood away while she wept. When the little boy stirred, Finn put his cheek against Tucker's soft hair and patted his back. He thought sadly of his marriage that had ended too quickly and left him with no child of his own. When Amber sniffled and wiped at her eyes, Finn put a hand on her shoulder.

  "She does what she does for love of you and Tucker. Come on now. Go home. Get some sleep."

  Amber nodded, worn out from the shock of what happened. In the hall, she shrugged off his hand and took the baby from him.

  "I'm fine. I just don't know what would happen to us if she died. I'm not like her. I wouldn't know what to do, that's all."

  "Yes, you would. You are your mother's daughter, Amber." Finn gave the little boy a kiss and that was that.

  "See you," Amber said.

  "You will," Finn answered but he was speaking to her back.

  As soon as she stepped into the elevator, Finn went and checked in with the nurse on duty. She assured him that Cori would sleep through the night and would, indeed, be discharged in the morning. Back in her room, he took off his jacket, pulled out his phone and put a chair next to the bed.

  Finn took his partner's hand in both of his and bowed his head. Much as he would have liked to rest, his mind was filled up and not to be settled. Sharon Stover and her angry stepson fought for space in his brain along with a foreign strong man and a silent bodyguard, spineless politicians and greedy businessmen. Strangely, though, all those voices melted away, drown out by memories of the cradlesong his mum sang to all her babies.

  God is here, you'll not be lonely,

  All through the night

  'Tis not I who guards thee only,

  All through the night

  Night's dark shades will soon be over,

  Still my watchful care shall hover,

  God with me His watch is keeping,

  All through the night

  Finn closed his eyes and let the moment be: the silence in the room, Cori's hand in his, the peace that came with a mother's prayer. He had faith that God and Takrit watched over him and Cori both. With their help Finn would bring Emanuel Dega Abu to justice for all the people he hurt but especially for this one whose hand he held.

  ***

  The doctor worked quietly, speaking only to recommend that Oliver seek out a surgeon as soon as possible. The doctor was the sort Emanuel liked. He accepted that Oliver had fallen upon a fence rail that went through his upper arm even though the wound was clearly made by a bullet. Rada had been summoned to help and listened to the lie. As always, he was amazed how money could make men see things that were not there, or blind them to things that were. Even doctors who, it was said, must report a gunshot wound to the authorities in this country became dumb and blind when enough money was given to them.

  While the doctor tended his patient and Oliver joked that the 'fence' had fared worse than he, while Emanuel watched from his seat in the chair by the desk, Rada gathered up the bloody clothing. He put them in a bag, took them to Oliver's room and got fresh clothing. When he returned to the suite, the doctor was gone and Oliver was drinking from a bottle of whiskey. Emanuel still sat in the same chair. He raised a finger toward the Aussie.

  Rada needed no other direction. He helped dress Oliver. In his drunkenness and under the influence of the pills the doctor had given him, the wounded man was ugly in his behavior. He hit Rada in the face when Rada raised him to put the shirt over his dressings. He spoke in a vile manner about the women he had hurt.

  Rada accepted the blow and did not answer when Oliver asked if he wouldn't have liked to have got a bit of the girl, Hali. Rada got Oliver up and back to his room, enduring the man's babble about their friendship, and Rada's own goodness and Rada's luck at having scored a woman who Oliver had seen and lusted after.

  Rada put the man to his bed. He put water and the bottle of painkillers on the side table. He also put a bottle of Oliver's favorite whiskey on the bed stand. Should the man take too many of the pills and drink too much whiskey and kill himself, it certainly would not be Rada's fault. But Oliver did not let Rada go easily. He took Rada's tie and pulled on it so that the black man's face was close to his:

  "That film was in a bag or envelope or something, Rada. That's because the thumb drive is so small Takrit was afraid to lose it. That's what the girl told me. I think someone on that bridge took it. You tell Emanuel. I was going to make him pay a bit, but I really like the little bugger. You tell him, okay? She had it with her. That's what Hali said. If it isn't there, maybe Stover's got it. Maybe she already bought it from the people on the bridge."

  Rada took Oliver's good hand and removed it from his tie and left the room. When Rada entered the presidential suite once more, Emanuel put down the phone he was holding.

  "I have arranged for Oliver to fly out late tomorrow night. I will have him met."

  Rada almost smiled. Eritrea was not where the Australian expected to recuperate he was sure, and to be met at the airport on Emanuel's orders was never a good thing. What Oliver had done here was a problem both for Emanuel's personal fortunes and the country's. For Rada, what Oliver had done here to the girl and her mother was a sin. But he was happy that it was a woman who put a bullet in the man. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

  "Did he speak to you?" Emanuel asked.

  Rada told him what Olive
r said.

  "Well then, Rada, I believe there is work to do. It is time Takrit is buried."

  ***

  When your husband's workplace is the world, times zones don't count so Barry Shin's wife had learned to sleep through middle of the night calls. If it was good news, Barry would wake her up; if it was bad news – a bridge collapsing or an airport bombed – she preferred to have her coffee before hearing the grisly details. So Barry's wife slept on when he caught the phone before the first ring had finished.

  "Shin," he said without a trace of sleep in his voice. There was also no hint of surprise when he followed up with, "Emanuel, you are up late."

  Emanuel Dega Abu offered the usual Eritrean pleasantries but no apologies for the hour. Barry responded to the pleasantries as he was expected to do and waited patiently to hear what the man wanted. While Emanuel hated to bother Barry with such a trivial thing – more an annoyance, really – he felt it necessary to seek advice on how to proceed. This annoyance, Emanuel explained, would have a negative impact on the plans he had to partner with the American government and a firm as prestigious as RDN. Did Mr. Barry Shin perhaps have some ideas regarding what could be done to stop this annoyance so that their business might proceed?

  Barry assured Emanuel that his greatest wish was for their business to proceed smoothly and then he asked what this annoyance might be. When he heard Emanuel out, Barry said that yes, he did have an idea how to solve this problem.

  "Splendid," Emanuel responded.

  Emanuel hung up and changed into his nightclothes. As he got into the bed and pulled the fresh sheets up to his chin, as he turned and placed his folded hands beneath his cheek, Emanuel Dega Abu knew that at least part of his problem would be solved. Tomorrow Rada would explore how to take care of the other part. If Rada were not successful, they would have to do what Oliver could not do. They would have to take the head off the snake that was hissing at him.